50,000 Muslims From Over 100 Countries Set to Attend Britain’s Biggest Islamic Festival as Organisers Reveal Their Goal for the Gathering

The event, called Jalsa Salana UK, will take place near Alton and will welcome members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community from more than 100 countries. Organisers say around 5,000 volunteers will help run the convention and keep everything operating smoothly.

The annual gathering has been held in the UK for around 60 years and is one of the biggest events in the Ahmadiyya Muslim calendar. Organisers say they have put strong security and safety measures in place to protect everyone attending.

The main speaker at the event will be Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the spiritual leader, or caliph, of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. Ahmadi Muslims believe that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, an Indian religious leader, was the promised Messiah who came to revive the true teachings of Islam.

Before the event, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said the convention is an important chance to show people what he described as the true message of Islam. He said that as misunderstanding of Islam and hostility towards Muslims continue to grow in many parts of the world, the gathering gives people an opportunity to learn that Islam teaches peace, security, kindness and goodwill towards everyone.

He said his message at the convention would focus on peace and unity. He also described the gathering as an example of people from different countries, cultures and backgrounds coming together in harmony. According to him, many non-Muslims also attend the event, where people not only worship God but also encourage one another to show love, compassion and respect for everyone.

New polling commissioned by the Ahmadiyya Muslim community found that 77% of people in Britain believe the country is more divided today than it was five years ago. The survey also suggested that many people feel communities have become more separated over recent years.

Jacob Williams, Head of Domestic Policy at the think tank Pickthall House, told GB News that he believes the country’s divisions are mainly linked to immigration rather than the presence of Muslims. He said Britain has experienced an immigration rate that many people see as too high over the past seven or eight years. He added that the country is not divided simply because Muslims live in Britain or because they have the same freedom of religion as everyone else.

The survey also found that 56% of people believe the positive contributions made by British Muslims are not widely recognised by the rest of society. The results came from a YouGov poll of more than 2,000 adults across Britain carried out in July 2026.

Khalil Yousuf, a spokesman for the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, said the findings were surprising and showed the need for more conversations between different groups. He said talking to one another is the best way to reduce division and that people often discover they have much more in common than they first thought after meeting Muslims.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim movement was founded in 1899 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. While the movement has millions of followers worldwide, many other Muslim groups do not accept its beliefs and consider it outside mainstream Islam. Because of this, Ahmadis have faced persecution and discrimination in several countries.

Jacob Williams also said members of the Ahmadiyya community continue to suffer persecution in a number of countries that identify themselves as Islamic states.

Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad said it causes deep sadness to many sincere Muslims when Islam is blamed for conflict and violence around the world. He said the purpose of the convention is to promote a message of peace, understanding and respect for all people, regardless of their faith or background.